On Thursday, sources within Microsoft’s upstream supply chain have reported that the second-generation refresh to the company’s Surface Book is expected to be delayed. The sources cited “design issues” for the launch setback, indicating that the company could be preparing to redesign some critical areas to the final consumer product before launch.

The sources report the device will launch sometime after 2016, but do not specify whether design-related issues are hardware or software related. They they also confirm that the second-generation Surface Book will be upgraded from a 3000x2000p display to a 4K UltraHD (3840x2160p) display, perhaps in an effort to adopt a more industry-standard resolution that scales well across connected displays.

The second-gen Surface Book, or "Surface Book 2," will also feature at least one Thunderbolt 3 port based on Intel’s Alpine Ridge controller. This will provide up to 40Gbps of bi-directional bandwidth and the ability to daisy-chain up to six devices simultaneously – including up to dual 4K displays at 60Hz or a single 5K display (5120x2880p) at 60Hz.

Microsoft's original Surface Book design

The current Surface Book’s design was influenced by the variety of 2-in-1 convertible tablets that have hit mainstream retail shops since they emerged as an industry trend at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Microsoft developed a special hinge on the keyboard that would maintain the device’s weight-to-balance ratio, a move that allows the device to be used similarly to a clipboard and as a traditional notebook.

The Surface Book and Surface Pro series are both constructed using a magnesium metal “glass” that is melted in an oxygen-free environment and rapidly cooled to prevent crystallization. Of course, general chemistry tells us that magnesium catches fire when exposed to air. With this design, however, some claim the devices would need to be heated to between 500 and 600C to see any real effects, and these temperatures are far outside the rated device operating specs.

Perhaps Microsoft’s reported sign issues with the second-generation Surface Book have more to do with cosmetics, hinges and weight ratios than the construction material, but this is only an educated guess.

Current Surface Book Specifications

The current Surface Book, released in October 2015, measures 12.3 x 9.14 x 0.9 inches (312.4 x 232.2 x 22.9mm) and weighs 3.34 pounds (1.51kg) as a laptop, or just 0.3 inches thick (7.62mm) and 0.76kg (1.6 pounds) as a detachable tablet.

In January, Microsoft reported that it sold 2.5 million Surface-series devices in Q4 2015 (October through December), or $888 million dollars’ worth. However, we are unsure how many of these sales are specifically Surface Book units versus Surface Pro 3 and 4 units. In total, the company sold 6 million Surface series devices in 2015. This is compared with a previous 4 million sale estimate for the year, according to sources in the upstream supply chain.

Acer's new line of UHD monitors has been listed in Europe, but the Professional 280 is not available just yet.

However, the prices look promising. The Acer Professional CB280HK is priced at €499, while the B286HK should sell for €550. The monitors were announced a couple of weeks ago.

The spec is very similar. Both are 28-inch 3840x2160 units. The brightness rating is 300cd/m², static contrast is 1000:1, while the dynamic contrast is rated at 100000000:1. The reaction time appears to be the only difference - 2ms for the 280 model and 1ms for the 286 version.

As we are dealing with Acer's Professional series products, both can be pivoted between landscape and portrait mode. In terms of connectivity, the monitors feature HDMI 1.4a (MHL), DVI, DisplayPort 1.2 and Mini DisplayPort. There's also a VESA mount at the back and built in speakers, since architects and designers don't tend to buy 7.1 systems for the office.

The only competing 4K/UHD monitor that comes close in terms of pricing is Dell's Professional P2815Q, which also features a 28-inch 2160p panel. It has a response time of 5ms and it is limited to 30Hz at 3840x2160. The AOC u2868Pqu is a tad cheaper, but unlike the Dell it is hard to come by in Europe.

According to a post over at Anandtech.com, it appears that Intel is working hard on a driver updated that will bring 4K display support for Ivy Bridge and it should be ready sometime in October.

In addition to the support for 4Kx2K resolution displays, the new driver will also bring hardware accelerated 4K video decode. Unfortunately, you will still need to use two DisplayPort outputs in case you want to get the 4K panel to power up from an Ivy Bridge platform, so most Ivy Bridge systems today are out of the question.

On a similar note, Haswell will support 4K displays running from single DisplayPort or HDMI.